It's not that Skinner thinks he can win the race for Illinois governor. The former McHenry County treasurer and maverick state legislator--who said he was known for being a pain in the neck to his former Republican Party bosses--said he just wants a chance in the ring. He wants to get the message through to 5 percent of Illinois voters.

Getting 5 percent, he said, would be a victory because it would give the third party legitimacy in Illinois. It also means that Libertarians, like Republican and Democratic candidates, would need to gather only 5,000 signatures from registered voters to run for statewide office. Libertarians, like other third-party candidates, must now submit petitions with 25,000 valid names to get on the ballot.

"It's going to make it easier for them to run, especially on a local level," Skinner said.

But getting that magic 5 percent may not be easy for Skinner and his lieutenant governor candidate, Jim Tobin. A recent Tribune poll showed Skinner with the support of only 2 percent of Illinois voters in the governor's race.

But Skinner perseveres undeterred. Republican voters are fed up with corruption, he said, referring to the indictments against some of Gov. George Ryan's former top aides and associates.

"They want something new," Skinner said.

He said his campaign is based on simple principles--cut waste and end corruption.

The state Libertarian Party wants to cut income and cigarette taxes, calling smokers "America's newest minority," and it opposes any form of gun control, even referring to the Democratic and Republican candidates as "gun-control freaks." The state's budget crisis could be solved, Tobin said, simply by eliminating the lieutenant governor's office, the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs and the state police.

"They're spending like drunken sailors," Tobin said. "All they need to do is get rid of unnecessary spending.

Skinner, having joined a political party that doesn't make him toe the line, openly disagrees with some significant Libertarian stands.

Skinner has been an ardent opponent of abortion. But the national Libertarian Party platform says government should be kept out of the issue, although it opposes public funding for the procedure. Skinner also wants to turn tollways into freeways, which is contrary to the political party's belief in voluntary user fees as opposed to forced government taxation.

Skinner also disagrees with his running mate that marijuana should be legalized. Libertarians contend the nation's drug war is a threat to world peace.

"We don't agree on everything," Skinner said, acknowledging the party picked him for the top spot because he could draw GOP voters, not because he is a die-hard Libertarian.

But Skinner fits in well with the party's shoot-from-the-hip, underdog style. He has traveled the state in a beat-up Sedan DeVille, trying to get a few minutes here and there in the editorial board rooms of small newspapers or on the airwaves of public radio stations.

With a microphone in place, he spends much of his time squawking the `they're-chicken' routine.

He also touts his experience. "I have more than the other two guys combined," he said.

This is the second time he has sought statewide office. Two decades ago, he was the GOP candidate for state comptroller and lost by 1.1 million votes to Democrat Roland Burris.

In 1966, Skinner was elected McHenry County treasurer at age 24, the youngest person to hold that office. He was elected state representative in 1973 and served until 1981, when he ran an unsuccessful campaign for a U.S. House seat.

He ran again for the state legislature in 1992, won and served four more terms.

In between his stints in the legislature, he worked in state government, managing employee benefits for state workers.

Tobin is not new to politics either. In 1998, the avowed Libertarian was thrown off the ballot for governor for collecting too few signatures on nominating petitions.

The Berwyn resident said that if he's elected, he'll push to eliminate his post because it is a waste of taxpayer money.

"You don't need someone sitting in the wings waiting for the governor to die or be incapacitated or jailed," he said.

The two said the GOP fears the Libertarian Party because of Skinner's conservative background and experience, which, in a close race, could cost Ryan votes against Blagojevich.

But Terri Hickey, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, said, "We don't think [Skinner is] a credible candidate.... We don't know what votes he would pull from anyone."

Skinner couldn't care less.

Clearly enjoying his underdog status, he flaps his arms and squawks like a chicken, describing one of his ads to a Downstate radio reporter.

Skinner should be included in the debates if for no other reason than to liven them up, Tobin said.